For this very general learning session we have five objectives.

And the objectives for each learning session

will be things that you should be able to do at the end of the case.
So they're achievements, they're accomplishments for you,
not something like understand the skeleton.
So the five objectives for the introductory bone session
are, first, at the end of the session, you'll
be able to define the term skeleton.
It's a term that we use all the time.
But anatomically, strictly what does it mean?
The second learning objective is that you'll
be able to explain the difference between the axial skeleton
and the appendicular skeleton.
The third objective is that you will be able to explain
which bones of the skeleton are single bones
and which bones are elements as part of a series.
The fourth objective is to describe the similarities
between the organization of the upper limb
and the organizational of the lower limb.
So wherever possible again, we're going to stick to basic rules,
and learn one get one free.
The fifth objective is to describe the three basic regions of a long bone.
Most of the bones that we'll be concentrating on
as we go through the cases will be the bones of the appendicular skeleton.
And those are long bones, so that will be a useful general exercise.
So a brief vocabulary exercise, only two vocabulary words for this section.
The first vocabulary word is the term girdle.
And that is derived from the Latin, singulum, which is a belt or support.
The second vocabulary term for you to learn for this session
is the term articulation, which means a joint.
It's just a fancy Latin name for a joint.
But the Latin itself means a formation of vines.
So the two vocabulary words are girdle and articulation.
The skeleton is actually defined as all the bones in the body.
And if we include the tiny little bones in the middle ear,
there are 214 bones in the body.
And vertebrates, like ourselves, we have an endoskeleton,
which means that the bones are not at the surface of the body.
But the pattern in insects and crustaceans
is to have an exoskeleton, which means that the bones will be on the outside.
So the bones of the axial skeleton are the central bones
of the head, the neck, and the trunk.
And the bones included in the axial skeleton will be the skull.
And the blue areas that you're seeing on these slides
are, wherever possible, I just added the connective tissue structures
and cartilage structures.
So you'll see some nice big ears on the skeleton
because they're made of cartilage.
So the first bone will be the skull.
That second bone will be articulating or attaching at a joint to the skull.
And that will be the mandible.
But right beneath the mandible, if you put your hand just
under the front part of your mandible and then swallow,
you'll feel a bone right there at the base
of your tongue, which is the hyoid bone.
So that's a bone that many of you probably didn't even know you had.
But it's a useful bone because it gives form to the tongue
and helps the floor of the mouth go up and down when you swallow.
The organ that I'm using to talk to you right now
is actually the larynx, which is both a valve for the respiratory system
and the organ of speech.
And that is like a little cartilage skeleton with synovial joints
with the muscles attached to it.
And that's right here in your throat, right below the hyoid bone.
So it isn't bone.
But it's actually part of actually the musculoskeletal system.
The larynx, as a valve, is right on the top of the trachea.
The tracheal cartilages are here.
The skull in the axial skeleton is sitting on top of the vertebral column.
And that's easier to see from the back.
So if we look at the vertebral column from the back,
we'll see a series of vertebrae in the vertebral column.
And they're organized into regions with slight differences
in the anatomy of the bones because of slight differences in function.
The most superior series in the vertebral column
are the cervical vertebrae.
And the term cervix means neck.
So there are seven cervical vertebrae.
One actually holding up the skull, and that's the atlas vertebra.
So in mythology, Atlas was holding up the weight
of the world on his shoulders.
And then right beneath that is the access vertebra,
which enables the head to pivot.
So we teach the first year medical students
that the joint between the skull and the Atlas vertebra
is the yes joint because it enables you to flex and extend your neck,
and the joint between the atlas vertebra and the axis vertebra
is no joint because it enables you to shake your head.
Seven cervical vertebrae, and the last cervical vertebrae, which is C7,
we'll articulate with the first thoracic vertebra.
There are 12 thoracic vertebrae in humans.
Different mammals have different numbers.
And the characteristic feature of the thoracic vertebrae
is that they articulate with ribs.
So the thoracic vertebrae articulate with the 12 ribs.
Right below that are the lumbar vertebrae.
And if you look at the series, you can see
that as we go from superiorly, right below the skull,
to just about the sacrum at the lumbar vertebrae,
the dimensions of the vertebrae are getting bigger.
So the lumbar vertebrae will be much wider and deeper
than the cervical vertebrae because a greater percentage of the body weight
is being transmitted through them.
The lumbar spine has no articulations with the ribs.
Occasionally, some people will have a lumber rib,
just as some people occasionally have a cervical rib.
But that's an unusual variation.
At the inferior extent of the lumbar vertebrae,
the fifth lumbar vertebra will articulate with the sacrum.
And there's a curvature right at that articulation.
And so that's a weak joint.
So you may have heard of, or you may even
have yourself some lower back pain.
And that's because it's a sharply angled joint,
and there's strain on the intervertebral discs, which
are what you can see illustrated in blue.
So seven cervical vertebrae, twelve thoracic vertebrae, five lumbar
vertebrae.
Lumbar vertebrae articulate with the sacrum.
And the sacrum itself consists of five vertebrae, which are fused.
At the end of the tip of the sacrum are a variable number
of coccygeal vertebrae, which is all that we have left of our tails.
So many mammals have long, beautiful, useful tails.
We only have a little short one, which is far less useful.
Looking again at the front, we know that the thoracic vertebrae
attach to the ribs.
And in the front, there is a bone, which, again, in the embryo
fused from many small different parts.
But in us, it's fused to form the sternum.
And so the sternum is also the breastbone.
And the 12 pairs of ribs attach to the vertebrae posteriorly
and to the sternum anteriorly.
Between the ribs and the sternum are bars of cartilage,
which are very soft and compliant in younger AnatomyX students,
but which may have started to calcify in older HarvardX students and myself.
So those are the bones of the axial skeleton.
And here's a quick quiz question.